The Constantinople correspondent of the Times said in Wednesday's paper
that as he was watching the composite regiments of Nizams and Redifs pass through the streets an aged cab-driver remarked to him, " There will be a great cutting-off of ears." We fear that these vivid words fore- shadow only too surely the ferocity of the passions which this racial war will let loose in the Balkans. The correspondent also makes a note of the slouching appearance of the men as they marched. They have an undoubted military quality of their own, but, as he says, it is quite distinct from British smartness, French elasticity, or German ponderous uniformity. This bears out what we said last week of the characteristics of the Turkish soldier, though we notice that our statements were contradicted by the Pall Mall Gazette. But we never said that the Turk was much less eminent in attack than in defence. His method is visibly lacking in swiftness and dash. It does not follow that he will shrink from attacking a position with a coolness and persistence that are not less than marvellous. The mistake of the Pall Mall Gazette is natural enough, as the writer probably had not had the opportunity which fell to the writer of our leading article of seeing exactly how the Turks do attack a position.
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